Helicopters Herald Army's New Focus

The arrival of Army Apache helicopters on Oahu will bring a unique training mission for the attack choppers: landing on Navy ships during Rim of the Pacific war games to gain more familiarity with sea-based operations while also demonstrating the land service's versatility.

Eight of the latest model Apache Guardians were shipped to Hawaii in the past few days, and while they are here on a couple of months' deployment, their arrival signals an Army transition to a more expeditionary force and what will likely be a permanent Apache presence to come at Wheeler Army Airfield.

On Friday the Army flew one of the Apaches to the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island to conduct a blessing and show off the attack helicopter that has been invaluable to ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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